The Eclipse Queen
by TheZorker
Summary: After a visit to Inaba, it's time for Yu Narukami to return to Tokyo. But an outside evil has tipped the scales against humanity, and the greatest heroes cast the strongest shadows...
1. Fools of Inaba

It was a dream. It had to be. This looked nothing like her bedroom. And it was far too big. It might have been bigger than her entire home. And there was a throne at the far end.

Was this a palace?

The air was crisp, cold, and smelled fresh. Wisps of fog darted in and out of sight. She looked around. Beautiful, but macabre, artwork decorated the extravagant walls. She was... she blinked. That was her represented on the pictures! No... not quite. This person was bigger, stronger looking. Her hair was cut short. There was a circle on her forehead, a pitch black perfect the eyes... she looked away. Those eyes were cold, cruel, and calculating.

That wasn't her.

That wasn't her at all.

"You came!" said an excited female voice. "Just like the man in black said,"

She looked back at the end of the room. There was a person on that throne, and she felt pulled toward her. She walked towards it, nervous in a way that she couldn't explain. When she got close enough to realize who it was, she swallowed and took a step back.

The person on the throne was the same twisted reflection that decorated the walls, and she repulsed her.

"You don't like them?" the not-her asked, glancing at the pictures. "That's what we've always wanted, isn't it? To be strong? To be worthy of being a queen? To not have to rely on others? We were a queen, once, right? We're _better_ than them."

"No," she stammered. "I'm not. They're smarter, and stronger, and they are my _friends_."

"Right, right. They're better than us. They're _always_ better than us. How would they be if they didn't have weak little us to protect. They don't need us, they feel sorry for us, and..."

"No! They would never give up on me like that!"

"They don't have to be," Not-her got up slowly from the chair, staring into her eyes. "We're lazy. Even the Earth Prince simply pities us. If we practiced our powers, we could find our strength, make use of those people. We would be royalty again."

"You... you say we," she said. "I would never talk like that. I'm not like that."

Not-her cocked its head. "But you are. I am your shadow, I am part of you. You are me... and I am..."

"No!" she cried. "You are not me!"

She felt something snap within her, like a mental chain being broken. She let out a gasp, and both women stumbled backwards.

Not-her's eyes opened wide, almost impossibly wide. Then she began to laugh. "You... you are right. Not any more. I am so much more than you. I am a shadow... the true self." It lunged at her, and she began to scream. She could feel it slapping her face.

Usagi opened her eyes as Luna's paw slapped at her face a second time. She felt herself gasping for air, a disappointed howl echoing in her ears. The room was almost completely dark, the only light was the summer starlight coming through the window.

"Are you all right?" Luna asked.

"Nightmare," Usagi told her, her breath and heart rate returning to normal. "It was just a nightmare," she repeated, trying to convince herself.

"You've mumbled in your sleep before," Luna said, and Usagi could tell there was concern. "But you were starting to scream." In the gloom, Usagi could see Luna back up, and heard her tail twitch across the covers. "Tell me about it."

* * *

It was the last day of his visit, and almost the entire investigation team had come to see Yu off at the train station. "What a bunch you kids make, huh?" Uncle Dojima said, laughing. "There's others down in the station who will be glad to hear you're leaving. They were terrified something new and insane was going to start when I told them you were going to visit."

Yu offered a small smile, while Yosuke and Yukiko burst out laughing.

It was a beautiful sunny day in Inaba, just as Marie had promised. Yu didn't really want to leave, but he knew he'd make new friends in Tokyo. At least this time around he'd be arriving a good month before term started.

"Wait!" came the shout from the far side of the station. The group looked up, almost as one, as Naoto came running to join the throng. To everyone's surprise, she was dragging a full suitcase along behind her, her grandfather walked along a bit further back. He caught Yu's eyes and winked.

"Whaaaaaat?" Teddie asked, his eyes wide. "You're chasing after sensei?

"What? I? No!" said Naoto, startled. "Actually, my grandfather got me an internship. I will be working with St. Luke's hospital as an assistant to the medical examiner."

"Eeech," Yoskue said, wrinkling his nose. "Bodies? To know how they died?"

"Inspired by the murder case, Naoto-san?" Dojima asked, still smiling. "If it comes up, it is a useful skill. I hope I never need it again, though." He looked around. "That's him, isn't it? I should go say hello."

"You'll be going to Tokyo as well, then?" Rise asked. "I'm sure Yu-sempai will be happy to have a good friend in a new school this time around."

"It's just for a month," Naoto said. "I'll be back for start of term in Inaba."

"Oh good," Chie said. "You teach me, and I'll teach you. More about Kung fu."

Kanji frowned. "That sounds really familiar. But I can't place it."

Several of the others laughed.

"Looks like the train's pulling in," Dojima said as he walked back to the group. "I'm going to miss having you around, Yu-san. Say hello to my sister for me."

Last handshakes, hugs and goodbyes were exchanged around the investigation team. Promises were extracted not to abandon Nanako, even if Yu wasn't around (though that didn't take much. Especially if 'Uncle' Dojima was to provide watermelon).

After a few minutes, Naoto and Yu boarded the train with their luggage, and set off for Tokyo.

They talked for while, before leaning back and watching Japan race by.

After about an hour, Yu nodded off. He almost promptly awoke in the velvet room.

Neither Igor nor Marie were there, just Margaret and a similar looking younger man.

"Good evening," Margaret said. "Welcome to the Velvet Room. I have been asked to watch over it while the master is away." She cocked her head slightly. "You've finished the previous contract, but I believe you will make a new one soon. The one with a thousand forms has _broken the rules,_ and the shadows are starting to take hold once more."

"Can we count on you to once again to defend humanity?" the man asked. He was holding Margret's Persona compendium.

"I will," Yu said.

"I am glad to hear it," Margret said. "Then we will soon meet here again in person."

"You will need to make new allies," said the young man. "It is one thing to defeat a deity that desires, on some level, to be defeated. This will even be more difficult."

"But we know you are capable."

Yu woke with a start. The announcement over the intercom said they were almost at Tokyo.

"Are you alright?" Naoto asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"About the only thing we haven't seen," Yu deadpanned. Then, growing serious, told Naoto what had just dreamed; and how similar it was to when he was taking the train to Inaba. "I was told to make new allies," he said, "it's good advice. If we're going to fight, it's always worth it to have someone to fight with, and for,"

"In dreams?" Naoto asked, skeptically. "The velvet room is the one thing that you've seen that I've been unable to verify with my own eyes."

Yu let out an exasperated sigh.

Naoto put her hands up apologetically. "Look, I'll keep my eyes open. But maybe we should tell the others. Maybe Teddie can sniff out something in the the Shadow Realm before it becomes a threat."

Yu nodded, mollified.

The train pulled into the station and settled to a stop. "Where will you be staying?" he asked. "I'd meant to ask earlier."

"My Grandfather arranged for an apartment near the hospital. Think it's owned by a friend of his." Naoto said. Then she gave the address.

"That's not that far from my new home," Yu told her. He smiled slightly. "I'll try to get you over for dinner, you can't live on instant ramen alone." Yu, dragging his luggage behind him, stepped onto the waiting platform. He spotted his waiting parents, and went to join them.

* * *

She'd only been in town one day, and Naoto was already heading out for her internship. Now she knew how Yu felt, starting school the day after he'd gotten to Inaba.

Naoto walked in the main entrance of St. Luke's and asked for Dr. Saitou. She was given directions to the basement, as well as a very uncomfortable look. She ignored it, and headed to the elevator. In the basement, she followed the maze of identical passages until she found the morgue. It had possibly the sturdiest doors she'd seen outside of a bank vault, and an unlit red lamp labeled 'contagion, no admittance'. She knocked, heard a shout to enter, and pulled the door open.

The first thing Naoto realized about the mortuary was that it was cold, almost uncomfortably so, especially as she was in summer clothing. What looked like lockers lined the walls, though she knew they must be freezers.

The resident forensic examiner was a tall, lanky individual, about middle age with jet black hair. He pushed a pair of thin spectacles up his nose and peered at Naoto, as if trying to figure out who she was.

"I'm Naoto Shirogane," she said, introducing herself.

"The Detective Prince!" he remarked. "I thought you'd be older... and..." his voice skipped a beat, "taller." he amended.

"It won't be a problem, will it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I promise you, I'm here to learn from you."

"No, of course not," he said, his tone screaming that he meant, "Maybe, we'll see." He continued, "In any event, it's actually not that busy here. I'm not sure why I'm getting an assistant in the first place."

"Maybe you'd be willing to share some of your old case studies, if you're not busy?"

Dr. Saitou looked slightly happy about this, and headed over to a filing cabinet in the corner. "There's a locker near the door, you can put your things in the bottom one, if you'd like."

Naoko slung off her rucksack, placing it in the locker.

They broke for lunch after a few hours. The doctor lived close enough that he went home. Naoto went up to the cafe. It was a open, bright room, warm after her stay in the mortuary. The morning had been sufficiently interesting. After selecting a meal, she paid.

Walking to her seat, she happened to happened to meet the look of a middle aged woman wearing a doctor's coat. The doctor looked surprised for a moment, as if she recognized her, then released a rather major sigh. Intrigued, and remembering Yu's advice, she walked over. "Mind if I sit down?" she asked.

The woman looked surprised at this, "Oh. Sure. That's fine."

Naoto sat down and took in her features. She wore her brown hair short, and brown eyes were studying the detective almost as much as the detective studied her. The doctor sighed again, then appeared to change her own mental subject. "Are you visiting someone here?" she asked politely.

"No," Naoto responded. "I'm interning with Dr. Saitou."

The woman was startled, "The examiner?"

Naoto smiled. "I'm a detective," she said. They had a pleasant enough lunch, talking about what they'd both done in the past.

As she the doctor finished, and went to throw away her trash, Naoto expressed her curiosity directly. "What made you so sad when you first saw me?"

"Hmm? Oh. You reminded me of my daughter, you both have the same focused expression," she said, laughing. "And you're about the same age. I wish I had more time to spend with her... but I don't want to give up helping people either."

"I understand, um, Doctor..." Naoto frowned, stressing the last syllable.

"Oh, my apologies. Doctor Mizuno," she said, introducing herself.

"Doctor Mizuno," Naoto repeated, nodding politely.

* * *

In the Shadow Realm, the Eclipse Queen was prepared for her appearance. She might not have been able to kill her originator, but that was to be mended. She had located a portal to the mortal realm, looking out on what appeared to be a small home. She pressed her hand against it, and was shocked to find resistance.

Annoyed, she pressed harder, but still could not get through.

She called one of the minor shadows to her, a large, scuttling hand. She ordered it through in her place. It was able to get through without a problem, and promptly returned, sitting at her side.

With growing irritation, she realized that she was being hedged out. There was still a thin connection between her and her original, and that she would not be free, truly free, until she was dead. Only then could the Eclipse Queen take her proper place.

But, as powerful as she was here, her originator was also powerful in her own way. And while she didn't make use of her own power, she had friends. The Man in Black had pulled the originator into this world once, but he could not do it again. If her quarry came in looking for her, she would bring her allies in with her. So she would need allies of her own, and, if necessary, a reason for her to come.

She folded her hands. More minor shadows were drawn to the power they sensed, they would prove a good start. But she knew where to find other allies. Stronger allies.

After all, she and her originator were part of a team.

 _Author's note: I've never played either version of Arena, so I really can't use it as Canon for this crossover. (I'm experiencing it now.) The Shadow Operatives from Persona 3 will almost certainly not be showing up (I've got enough characters to give screen time to), but you might spot Kirijo Group's influence behind the scenes. Persona Q is technically canon, but, well, mind wipe.  
_


	2. The Arcade Magician

Yu had been afraid of this. After just a few days with his family, getting settled into the large apartment in Tokyo, Yu was bored.

He'd checked his e-mail already, twice. While the other members of the investigation team still didn't take the Velvet Room seriously, they'd promised to take a look around the Shadow Realm at the usual entrance.

"It won't be the same though, partner," Yosuke's mail read. "Not without you leading us. Let's hope Teddie and Rise can figure out whatever is going on."

"You'll do fine, partner," Yu had sent in his reply. "Let's hope it's nothing."

Technically, he was transferring in the middle of term, from the other side of Tokyo. Practically the edge of Tokyo. This made the few friends he'd made a long way away, even by moped. His parents had mentioned that in the US (where they were while he was Inaba), grade terms were split by their summer break, which made a lot more sense to them. Yu was forced to agree.

"Why don't you try the arcade," his father had suggested the night before. "It was a place you used to hang out before," The most irritating thing was that he didn't have a better idea. So, rather than mope around the house, he dropped a handful of coins into his pocket, and went down to the neighborhood arcade.

In contrast to the other arcades he'd been in, this arcade was wide open and well lit. It had the usual crane games for the ticket collecting kids in the front, serious fighting games (including a brand new Super Street Fighter IV) along the back. Front and center was a game he'd never heard of. "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon 2?" he said to himself. With four coin slots and four sets of controls, it looked like a cooperative game. The original, a two player game, was against the back.

He'd heard of her before, vaguely. Some sort of mysterious superhero that fought against pan-dimensional monsters. He grinned. That sounded a lot like what the Investigation Team had done.

The attendant walked over to him. "New in town?" he asked.

"I am," Yu said, smiling. "Haven't had a chance to be in arcade for a year." He turned to face the man. He had brown hair and a freckled face, probably in his early twenties. He was wearing sunglasses, a clean white shirt, and dark blue slacks. "Yu Narukami," Yu said with a nod.

"Meiji Itami," he replied. He lowered his sunglasses just for long enough for Yu to see his twinkling brown eyes. He put them back on, and shook Yu's hand. "Pleasure is mine, Yu." He grinned again. "So, I saw you saw looking at the Sailor Moon game," he said.

Yu shrugged. "Can't say I've seen it before."

"Right. Been away for a year. It's a belt-scrolling Co-Op fighting game. Remember 'Golden Axe'?" Meiji asked.

Yu nodded. He did, vaguely. A couple of generic warriors on a quest to kill a giant skeleton, or something.

"It's like that. I'd give the original a go before trying the new one. It's near impossible for a solo player. It's designed to be a challenge for four."

Yu shrugged again and walked over to it, he fished a coin out of his pocket and inserted it into the game. He selected Sailor Moon herself, as the leader, and spent the first few moments investigating the controls.

"You're the most defensive player I've ever seen," Meiji told him. Yu had been approaching the entire thing like a new Shadow lair. His character's reach was decent, so he'd wait for foes to approach him before laying them out with simple combos. It was about halfway through the level before he'd begun to incorporate throws and grabs.

As he made it to what must have been the first boss, a pair of acrobatic looking creatures, he'd become aware that the clock had become dangerously low. Playing defensively had its disadvantages.

"Going to continue?" Meiji asked as the clock expired. "Your score takes a hit, but you can keep playing."

Yu narrowed his eyes, glancing at the high score, attributed to "U_T".

"I wouldn't even try it," Meiji said, laughing. "She's one of the best players I've ever seen."

It took three more tokens for him to learn the levels and patterns enough, but, before the morning was out, YuN was advertised as the best player in the game.

* * *

"Mom was home for dinner last night," Ami reported, sitting down at the ice cream parlor.

"What was the occasion?" Usagi asked, surprised.

"There wasn't one, actually," Ami said. "She said she met someone at the hospital that reminded her of me, and that she felt bad about having to work late all the time."

"She's got an important job, helping sick people though," Minako said. "Why should she feel bad about spending extra time doing that?"

Usagi was shocked, "That's her mother, Mina!"

Ami turned crimson.

"Just because we lost our parents, Minako," Makoto said quietly, "doesn't mean that others have to suffer the same misfortune."

Minako snorted.

"So what'd you talk about?" Usagi asked, eager to change the subject.

"School and work, mostly," Ami said, staring down at her melting vanilla. "Don't get me wrong. Mom has important work. She doesn't need the money, and you're right. She does like helping people..." she looked up, meeting the eyes of the others. "But I don't see her often enough. I do miss her, sometimes."

They finished their ice cream and were about to leave when a young woman came screaming out of the bathroom. "Giant mouths!" she shouted. "Giant mouths!" she screamed again, fleeing the store.

"What?" asked the startled server.

The girls looked up, and crashing through the restroom's door after the fleeing woman were no less than four giant floating orbs. They looked like giant mouths with large tongues, with nothing apparent actually keeping them up in the air.

"Yuck," Usagi said, averting her eyes. "What are _those_?"

"Don't know," Minako said, staring at them.

The rest of the staff had fled, so had any customers other than the girls. A fact that, quite frankly, suited them just fine. It made it much easier to transform, and fight, when there were no civilians present.

"Are those... tongues?" Mercury asked, having already summoned the mercury computers and starting an analysis.

They were tongues, hanging out of these mysterious floating mouths, and they were apparently attacked with, as Venus promptly got licked by one. The tall girl cried out, probably more in surprise than in actual pain. Then turned angrily and gave the thing a vicious kick, sending it flying.

"Clearly vulnerable to physical attacks," Mercury noted.

"Then let's see if vulnerable to Fire," Mars snarled, just dodging another tongue. She focused her power, and the room began to heat up. "Fire soul!" The flame shot from her fingers, splashing against the spheres, but they didn't react, just floated toward the girls.

Serenity struck out at one getting close to her, forcing it back. It floated backward from the force, and tittered at her. Then she cried out in pain as her entire body erupted in flame.

Mercury took one split second to put down her computer, then called her Sabão Spray Freezing to blast at the orbs. While this clearly effected the orbs more than the fire did, it didn't have the great effect that Mercury was clearly hoping for.

"Just stick with physical attacks," Jupiter said, as she joined the fray. "They don't seem to have a lot of tactics to them." She hit one of them with a powerful one-two blow and it simply dispersed into a fine black mist.

"What kind of youma is this?" Serenity asked nobody in particular, as Venus flanked her target, dispersing it with a well placed kick.

"No idea," Venus replied, cheerfully. "Did that one leave a tooth behind?"

* * *

Naoto closed the door behind her, and donned the sanitary clothing. "Who's the patient?"

"That is a very good question," Dr. Saitou said. "Take a look a this," he reached over to his desk, taking a piece of paper, and handed it over to his intern.

It looked like a fingerprint chart, but there were none of the spirals, circles, or patterns that would give it individuality. There were just two sets of five black ovals. "That can't be right, can it? There's no real way to remove your own fingerprints." Naoto said, staring.

"Well, you could use acid to burn them away. But then the scars simply serve as new ones," Saitou explained. Those eyes, though. I've looked into a lot of eyes, but I've never seen eyes like this, like the melanin just was drained out of them."

Naoto twitched the cloth. "May I, doctor?"

"Absolutely, just the head for the moment."

Naoto folded the head of the cloth away from the head and studied the eyes. The doctor was right, they were a very light grey, and it was easy to tell. Those disturbing eyes were wide opening at staring at something, with the victim's face frozen in a mask of terror. "That leaves... what?" she asked, "Dental records and a DNA test? Or are you going to tell me the teeth are gone, too?"

"No, the teeth are still there. We're going to have to make a mold of the teeth and scan them in, unless we get lucky on a DNA database. I'm sure they're going to be working at that down at the police station."

"So why isn't this body at the station?" she asked. "This can't be a natural death."

"Not the only one that came in today," he said. "Think the other was a gunshot victim... I must have lost the coin toss. Anyway. Please go get the tools from the desk, and the large bucket beside it."

Naoto gathered the knives and other sharp instruments from the desk, then reached down to pick up the bucket. "What's the bucket for?" she asked.

"For you. It's your first dissection, right?"

It had come down to the fact that she had _just_ had lunch. Truth be told, she'd seen more disgusting things in the Shadow realm, but she'd always intentionally eaten lightly those days. Dr. Saitou's eyes had glinted in amusement, as Naoto had emptied lunch into the bucket, but he told her not to worry. "Happens to most of the police detectives, or so I'm told," he had said.

The body wasn't even in bad shape. With the way he had looked so terrified, Naoto had thought they were about to find vicious claw marks, a close range bullet, or something out of the ordinary as a cause of death. Instead, there was nothing, the young man was almost the picture of health. In fact, there was no apparent cause of death, not even a stress fueled heart attack, which had been her next guess.

"I suppose you can be scared to death," the examiner said, "but I've certainly never seen it. Heart attacks just do not work that way."

Naoto remembered, suddenly, the death that started the Inaba mystery, Saki Konishi. She was found dead, on telephone wires. But the cause of death... it was just as mysterious this. For an instant, Naoto felt the light touch of a hand, pushing her from behind the scenes, to be in a place where she could do something about a otherworldly evil. "Doctor," Naoto said, "This actually looks a lot like one of the Inaba killings."

The Doctor turned on his heel to stare at her. "They got a confession from that killer, didn't they? It's not... what's his name," he waved his hand in a circle a bit, as if to enhance his memory.

"No, Adachi was the murderer," the intern confirmed. "And without a doubt. But this could be a copycat."

"Let me get on the phone with the Inaba PD, I'll see if we can't get an autopsy report to compare with the corpse we have here. Do you know if they ever got a cause of death?"

"No," she replied. Technically true. The police department would have never accepted 'Death by Shadow' as a cause of death. Naoto knew better, and she knew the report would turn to be a match. Yu had been right. She was going to tell him. It was time to reform the Investigation Team.

* * *

When Usagi gave a yelp of surprise, Luna looked up at Usagi, and saw a determination she normally only associated with Sailor Moon. "Someone beat my high score," she said, gritting her teeth. "I'm going to take it back."

Luna sighed.

Behind them, Meiji was carefully watching them. Yellow eyes glittered behind his sunglasses.

 _ **A/N**_ : _I'm not sure about this fiction. I've never been the world's largest_ _ **Sailor Moon**_ _fan. But I've ideas regarding super heroes, and especially secret identities, that I really want to explore. So I'm open to conversation about if I'm doing the girls credit or not... and a Beta reader. I could use a Beta reader. Also, the original version of this story had Sailor Moon calling herself 'Serena' while in her transformed state, with_ _Edvarius's suggestion, I've changed it to 'Serenity'. -TZ_


	3. Dark Priestess

"So, there's still nothing here?" Yosuke asked, looking around the terrain that had used to be their arrival point in the world of shadows. "With what Naoto said in her e-mail, I though we were going to find the place covered in fog with shadows all over the place again."

Rise had summoned her persona, and Teddie had been sniffing the air. Chie looked at them hopefully. "I'm afraid not, Chie-Chan," Teddie said.

"No, I don't sense anything either," Rise said. "It really is quiet here. I mean, I still detect shadows, but they're not aggressive. It feels wrong to hunt down parts of someone's subconscious."

Chie looked positively crestfallen. "I was really hoping to have the chance to get some practice in," she admitted. "We spent long enough training ourselves, and got so experienced at it, that I don't want to let it go. I mean, I don't want us to forget our skills just because we passed some kind of final exam."

"We did go to the trouble of sneaking in here," Yukiko said in her soft voice. We could practice against each other."

"Fight against each other?" Teddie exclaimed, looking right at the TV exit from the midnight channel. "I don't think I could bring my full power to bear on anything not a shadow!"

"Actually, this would be the best place to practice," Kenji said, ignoring the pun, "Since we can summon our personas in here, if something happens, we have access to healing magic."

"I wasn't really suggesting we would hurt each other," Yukiko said, "But you're right. And there's nobody to wonder why we're pointing sharp objects at each other. So why not? Did anyone have anything better to do today?"

Apparently, the answer was no. And they wanted to keep their promise to Yu, to continue to be friends and support each other, so it seemed like an appropriate thing to do. It was, after all, more or less how they met. So Yosuke had them pair off, Chie with Kenji, Teddie and Yukiko, and...

"I'm a dancer, not a fighter, Yosuke!" Rise exclaimed. "Himiko is focused on exploration, not battles."

"I actually thought of that," Yosuke said, "I used the last of our credit with Master Daidara and commissioned this! Tada!" He pulled out what appeared to be a short staff, fiddled with it slightly, and it expanded into a full length bo staff. He handed it over to the bemused Rise. "It's got a few latches that will make it lock it in place."

Rise gave the staff a once over, then looked up and looked daggers at the team's second in command. Giving her staff an experimental, but hard, swing, she connected solidly with Yosuke's shin. He gave a started yelp and hopped backward.

"Looks like she likes it, Yosuke!" Yukiko said, laughing that infectious laugh of hers.

"What's this made out of, anyway?" Rise asked.

"I think we learned never to ask that question of Daidara's inventions. I mean, I think he used the pieces of the shadows in the construction," Chie told her. "So we're better off not knowing."

"Alright, alright," Yosuke said, rubbing his knee, "Let's get down to practice. We'll switch off after a few minutes."

* * *

 _The Next Day_

Naoto was sitting down for lunch again. The autopsy report from Inaba had finally come in that morning after two days of waiting, and it was as she expected, it was a near exact match. And yet, there were some key differences. Saki had been clearly identifiable as Saki afterward, so had the reporter Mayumi Yamano. But, even with Naoto's help, Examiner Saitou was no closer to figuring out the identity of the mysterious body than they were then when it arrived.

Naoto had a theory why this would be the case. The first two victims of the Midnight Channel case had been killed by Shadows... but what if they'd been killed by the smaller shadows that made up the bulk of the foes they'd fought? They'd assumed that if a shadow killed the original person, then the Shadow would vanish too. But what if that was wrong?

What if... a freed shadow, if they killed the person they had been linked to... actually did take over a human's place in the real world? But... how had...

"Good afternoon, Naoto," said Dr. Mizuno.

Her thoughts disrupted, Naoto looked upward. She smiled at her new friend, they'd eaten lunch together the past few days. "Doctor, I hope you're having a good day,"

"Thank you, Naoto, I am. Actually," she said, speaking more quickly. "You said you were staying alone, right, while you were here in Tokyo?"

"I am," Naoto said cautiously, alert to the sudden change in tone.

"May I invite you to go out to dinner with us?" the words spilled out of her, like she was afraid she'd lose them. "I mean," she said, "with my daughter and me?"

It wasn't easy to catch Naoto by surprise, but this almost did. The doctor had, over the previous days, opined that she was losing contact with her daughter. How she was bright, but seemed to hang out with the same four friends all the time. And she felt guilty about not being around her daughter more. And her burgeoning friendship with Naoto was probably exacerbating that.

Still, inviting someone out to dinner that you barely knew seemed desperate. Or maybe there was something that the doctor wasn't telling her. Did that seem more likely? If so, what could it be? Naoto's curiosity was getting the better of her. "Sure, I'd enjoy that," she replied.

Dr. Mizuno looked visibly relieved. "Oh, thank you, Naoto," she quirked an eyebrow. "Probably be fun to let someone else do the cooking for you for a night."

An involuntarily shudder ran through her body, as Naoto suddenly got a vision of Chie and Rise's cooking. "As long as it's done by professionals," Naoto said. "I would enjoy that." Some part of that memory must have escaped into Naoto's voice, because the doctor gave her a single, raised, fascinated eyebrow. "Uh, let's just say I have some friends who should not be allowed near stoves." Naoto told her, smiling wryly.

Dr. Mizuno laughed. "Ami says one of her friends is like that too." She changed topics. "Are you enjoying your internship?"

"I am," Naoto told her, unable to talk about the mystery corpse. "I'm learning a lot from the examiner." They had a pleasant lunch, and Naoto promised to meet the Doctor the next night to go out for dinner the next night.

She cleaned her tray, and headed back to the basement. She was alarmed to find the examiner had a second body for her to look at, with the same mysterious lack of identity, the same terror filled grey eyes. This had the makings of a serial killing done by shadows. She was going to need to talk to Yu. He had been right, something was out there.

* * *

The next afternoon, while Yu was discovering that U_T had reclaimed the top spot at Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, and was working to take it back; Rei Hino was on her way to practice.

"I can't believe you want me to go to Kendo club with you," Usagi complained.

"I need a partner for today, and you could use the exercise," Rei said. "We just had our first encounter with youma that was resistant to magic. You may need to actually punch something."

Usagi let out a very long sigh that sounded like it was bordering on a whine.

"If only you'd practice anything like you practiced that video game of yours," Rei said under her breath. Then, more loudly, "C'mon, Usagi. It's only for forty five minutes, it won't be that bad."

"Why didn't you ask Makoto?" Usagi asked.

That, in Rei's opinion, was definitely a whine. "She's going to her dojo to practice kung fu," Rei said sweetly. "Would you rather join her?"

Usagi gave a very visible shudder. Rei suspected she was picturing getting thrown to the mat by the larger girl. "No... that's OK. I'm here. I'll just go with you," Usagi said. Rei grinned to herself, and headed through the door into the gym. There were ten students, including the two senshi, each armed with a wooden _bokken_ sword.

"Stop trying to dodge it, Usagi," Rei told her, as Usagi backed away for the umpteenth time, almost dropping her bokken. "Stick to the pattern. You can do this, low, high," she instructed. From the other students, the clear clacking sounds of wood striking wood was being heard. Rei was beginning to grow frustrated.

Usagi stepped forward again, gripping the staff as if her life depended it, striking firmly at the space in front of her. Unfortunately, Usagi had gone high while Rei had began low. The strike met open air, and the blond toppled over onto the mat.

Rei stared down at the pile of Usagi on the ground, let out a sound that was somewhere between a giggle and a sigh, planted her bokken with one hand and leaned down to help pull Usagi to her feet with the other. "Some things", Rei thought to herself, "just refuse to change."

"I'm sorry, Rei," Usagi said.

Rei beat down her exasperation. If the practical effect of training wouldn't get Usagi to focus, maybe she could give her a better incentive. The best way to get Usagi's attention was to go through her stomach. "Look, Usagi. If you can keep up a chain of... let's say twenty strikes, I'll buy the ice cream this afternoon.

Usagi's eyes went wide, and Rei allowed herself a quick grin. Bribery may not get one anywhere, but it certainly got you Usagi's full efforts. "Alright, let's try this again, low first. Twenty strikes."

"Twenty strikes," Usagi agreed, with determination. "Let's go."

As Rei had suspected, once Usagi got into it, she seemed to enjoy it. Or at least, she was better at it than she wanted to admit to either Rei, or possibly herself. By the time the Sensei had come to examine their pairing, they were moving in the pattern, if not quickly, at least at a speed that suggested some competency.

"Is this a new student, Rei?" he asked politely.

"I would hope so, Sensei," she said. She glanced at the wide eyed Usagi out of the corner of the corner of her eye. "But we'll see."

They had begun to wind down when the attack came. It wasn't a giant set of mouths this time, but a four count of shadowy, human-ish monsters. They burst through a back door, and they were covered in brown robes, with blue masks inscribed with a single 'V'. The strangest part was that that they seemed to be handcuffed together in pairs, with a single chain running between their hands.

The students backed up, holding up their bokken defensively, lining up against against the wall of the dojo. Once again, the two senshi were presented with foes they'd never seen or heard of.

The sensei moved to protect his students, expertly striking out at one of the monsters with his own staff, and twisting to avoid the counterattack he felt would come from the chain. But while he was a master of the physical realm, these opponents seemed to have talents in a magical realm. With a chattering and clanging of their chains, a ball of ice formed from nowhere and shot itself at Rei's sensei, who staggered backward, falling to one knee.

Rei's temper flared, and she launched herself at the freaky looking twins, her bokken moving at speed, and she slammed into her foe, knocking it down. "Come on, Usagi! Give me a hand with thing," she called out. Seeing as it wasn't human, Usagi hurried forward, joining her friend at making sure the thing didn't get up, and just like the monsters at the ice cream parlor, it evaporated into a black mist. Its partner simply fled back through the broken door it had originally crashed through.

"After it!" Rei cried. But when they came into what must have been the sensei's office, they stared in shock. It had everything you expected to find, a computer for office work, books on teaching, a mat for his own practice area, and a large, full size mirror. And the pair of... whatever they were were climbing through it disappearing.

This mirror, instead of having a silvery metallic frame, was covered in a black, foul looking substance. The image held within was no reflection of the office, either. It appeared to be showing what looked like a Torii arch, leading to a temple of what looked like dark marble.

Rei went first, touching the mirror tentatively. It rippled under it finger tips, like she was disturbing the surface of a lake.

"We don't have any business in there," Usagi said. "Not without...

"We don't. The Sailor Scouts do," Rei said defiantly. "Mars power, make up!"

Usagi winced. Going after an enemy in an unknown environment? That sounded more like a job for the full team, but Mars was already plunging through the mirror portal. It forced Usagi to call upon her own inner power, and for Serenity to follow after.

When they emerged on the other side, the torii arch led to what looked like a government military building. Some type of checkpoint, with a small building for a person who might look for IDs guarded the entrance. Tendrils of fog snaked across their vision, and the whole area felt dark and forbidding. There was no sign of any sun, or anything that would give light.

"What is this place?" Serenity asked, the monster forgotten.

"I don't know," Mars admitted. "I can feel something watching us, something unpleasant. Let's go," She said.

"I agree, let's go... oh, you meant in there?" Serena asked. "Don't you want to get the others? That... that place doesn't look good."

"Something's inside, something important," Mars said, pushing open the front door, with Serenity following after. The inside only furthered the feeling that this was some important military complex, at first. The hallways were wide, stainless steel, and spotless. They were also labyrinthine and long. The rooms too were stark, shiny, and empty of any decoration.

There was also the unshakable feeling they were being watched, but couldn't spot whatever it was. "This is creepy, Mars," Serena said. "We shouldn't be here."

"Something is here," Mars replied. "And it's attacking our world with those monsters. We need to find it and get rid of it."

They found stairs and, convinced they'd explored the first level proceeded down to the second. And then down to the third. They kept getting glimpses of something, just outside of their field of vision. At the end of the track were two large doors. Mars and Serena looked at each other. "This is a bad idea, Mars. Nobody builds something this big for no reason."

Mars pushed the door open, and Serenity followed, unwilling to abandon her friend and fellow scout. "Is something pulling you here?" Serenity insisted. "This is reckless, even for..." Serenity broke off, staring. This room finally had decoration, a table covered with miniatures for showing war battles, and what looked like a detailed replica of Tokyo, down to Serenity recognizing the arcade and ice cream parlor where she spent a lot of her free time.

"Hello," said a cool voice.

Serenity looked up. Mars was standing there, dumbstruck, and for good reason. Standing across from her was a very nearly identical Mars. If it weren't for the glowing yellow eyes, she wasn't sure she would have noticed the difference.

Glowing eyes.

Serenity gasped in shock. She hadn't thought of the dream encounter with her own doppelganger since telling the short story to Luna. That doppelganger hadn't had glowing eyes... had she? But in every way this felt like... Serenity started to pull at Mars's arm. "Mars, we need to get out of here."

Mars wasn't moved, she was staring at the duplicate.

"We don't need to listen to her, she's a crybaby, and she's weak," the duplicate said. Even the voice sounded at least somewhat like Mars, but not completely. It sort of reverberated, like it was a weird echo of her normal voice.

Serenity froze.

"Who are you?" Mars asked, her voice shaken, like she had heard words she'd never expected to hear.

The thing laughed. It was a cold, cruel sound. "Oh, I'm you. The part that would be the leader you _know_ you could be. If we were in charge, the forces of darkness wouldn't stand a chance. We'd whip the other scouts into shape..."

"What?" Mars asked, backing up a step. "No. I don't think that..."

"Yes we do. Don't deny that. They are all so _passive._ It takes enemy action to drive them to do their duty. And with one exception, they don't train. We need to practice, to get stronger..."

"My friends are not **weak**!" Mars shouted, her temper beginning to boil over.

"They are. You, you and I, we could make them stronger. All it would take is to show them how unfit little Usagi really is."

"She's the heart of the team!" Mars cried out. "You don't know what you're talking about! You... you _are_ _not_ me!"

Those words echoed in Serenity's head. She'd heard them before. She had _said_ them before. "Mars..." Serenity told her, in the most authoritative voice she could muster. "we need to get out of here now, and get the others."

"I... I was you." It started to laugh. "I am a shadow, of your **own, true, nature!** I am your **True Self!** "

"Burn! _Fire soul!"_ Mars cried out, pointing her fingers at her self-proclaimed shadow. The fire merely washed over Shadow Mars, and when she emerged from the smoke and flame, she was... smaller, at least slightly. Broken chains dangled from a bracer on both of her wrists, a red tricorne hat was set on her head,

"Fire is the one thing we still share," it said, laughing. It whipped out with one broken chain, catching Mars across the face. It bit deep into her skin, leaving her bleeding from her cheek, and she staggered back from the pure force of the blow.

Mars simply stared in shock and horror. It had been a long time since anything had hurt like this, especially in her magical form.

Serenity grabbed her arm again, and this time she succeeded at pulling Mars out of the room. "I'm not a coward..."

"There is no shame in asking for help, Mars! That's why we're a _team_ ," Serenity insisted, knowing that the shadow would be hot on their heels. If it had access to Mars's fire magic, that may have even been literal.

But the way back through the twisting chrome corridors wasn't nearly as empty as their way in had been. Creatures like the floating mouths and chained twins they'd seen before, as well as even stranger things, floating books, and scroll papers that were eerily similar to _Ofuda_ , and more tried to block their path.

Serenity just charged through them, while Mars had summoned her bow, and was firing quickly, on the run, to keep them from blocking their path. There were to many for just the two of them to fight alone.

When they reached the Torii arch at the entrance to the complex, they plunged through it, and through the mirror on the other side. But the portal was still open, and any second, a horde of monsters might come pouring out of it.

"I'll use the Moon Crystal on it," Serenity said, gasping for breath. She'd been hit during their flight, never hard, but multiple times. "Moon healing escalation!" When the light dimmed, the black ooze that had surrounded the frame was gone, and the two scouts looked at a reflection of themselves.

They took a few minutes in silence, just catching their breath, staring at each other.

"We need to tell the others," Serena said, finally.

"Tell them what?" Mars asked. "How we ran? About the portal?" She shuddered, and she lowered her eyes away from Serena. "About how it lied?"

"About how we have a new enemy," Serenity said firmly. She willed away the moon energy, returning to her civilian state, and pulled out a cell phone.


	4. Hospital Empress

Ami arrived at the hospital with Minako promptly at six. "It was nice for you to invite me out to eat, Ami," her fellow senshi told her.

"Mom actually suggested it," Ami replied. This earned a surprise look from Minako. "She said to come up to her office whenever we got here, and we'd all go to dinner together." Ami guided her friend through a maze of corridors toward a small bank of elevators, and took one of them up to the fifth floor.

Once there, Ami looked left and right to orient herself, then went down a hall, clearly of small personal offices, towards the one that belonged to her mother.

* * *

That afternoon's new subject had been kinder to both Naoto and Examiner Saitou than the past two had been. While a drug overdose certainly wasn't a pleasant way to go, it was at least it way they could understand. "See the small scars along the vein? Naoto?" he explained. "That's where he injected himself."

Naoto could see, and the idea of self mutilation hit slightly too close to home for her not to be disgusted, but she attended to her teacher. "Yes, sir, I see them." They even were able to identify the body with his fingerprints, which was a refreshing turn of events. On the other hand, she got a first hand look at how to identify time of death by taking liver temperature, which was also disturbing.

It was about half past five when the examiner glanced up at the clock. "Ah, I think we've heard all our new guest has to tell us. Here, help me put him to bed, and we'll call it a day." The examiner indicated a freezer, and with the detective's help, put 'the guest' into a freezer, until he could be claimed by next of kin. "That was a good experience?" he asked. "Much better than the strange cases of the last few days?"

"It is, sensei," Naoto said, smiling.

"Hah! Well, let's see if either sensei or student gets a much needed brainwave on how to identify our other two cases, or even an idea as to what killed them," Dr. Mizuno said, but he was smiling, he clearly appreciated the compliment.

"Wash up, Naoto, and I will see you," he frowned. "Are we to the weekend already?"

"I think so, sir, but you should call me if you need me. I'm used to it, as a detective."

"I suppose you can't control when a witness or a lead shows up, can you?" he said. "I'll keep that in mind."

Naoto wasn't sure if that was a promise or a threat.

Instead, she cleaned up, retrieved her personal things from her locker, and headed up to see Dr. Mizuno. Arriving at the office, and receiving a distracted, "Come on in", she entered the office. Naoto didn't quite know what she expected to see, but If Naoto was honest with herself, she would have admitted she didn't expect to see that. The office, while not a wreck, was at least a mess. The desk around her computer was covered with charts, notes, and at least two empty coffee cups. Some sort of anatomy chart hung crookedly on one wall. Balanced on top of the computer's monitor was a series of pictures of a girl that could only be Ami Mizuno. "Is that your daughter?" Naoto asked politely.

The doctor paused in her typing, looking up at the pictures. "Yes," she said simply. Although Naoto couldn't see it, she could almost feel the woman's gaze flicker up to her daughter's pictures. After a few seconds, the typing resumed. "Sorry, I'll be done soon. Have a seat?"

Naoto took the guest chair and sat quietly as the doctor finished her work.

It was getting towards six when she finally looked up. "Any suggestions for what you'd like..." the doctor began, but three shapes, resembling nothing more then women, floating on large love seats.

"What... what are you?" Mizuno asked the figures, her eyes widening in shock.

"No... no," Naoto whispered, also in shock. "They can't be." Shadows? In the material world? How was this possible?

The shadows struck Dr. Mizuno. She cried out in pain, and they lifted the struggling doctor into the air, and as her feet dangled helplessly, completely out of the room. All this took roughly seven seconds, before even Naoto could have found her wits.

Once she had recovered them, she jumped to her feet and flew after the kidnapping shadows. She spotted them down the hallway, going into a public restroom not far away. She tore after them, noting only dimly the two girls she left in her wake. In the restroom, she saw the doctor, barely conscious, being shoved into a mirror over the sinks, the shadow disappearing after it.

"Mirrors?" Naoto asked the empty restroom blankly, "They can use mirrors?" This wasn't a mirror though, at least, not a mirror as Naoto understood it. The frame was covered with a black ooze, and the reflection inside wasn't the hospital's bathroom. It was... it looked like a school? A high school, but not Yasogami High. She didn't recognize it. She pushed her hand where the mirror should have been, and the glass rippled like water. This was a horrible idea. She should call for back up... but... but.. shadows were actively capturing people.

No, there was no time to even call Narukami, if the shadows were already agitated enough to capture someone in the physical world, it wouldn't take them long to tear them apart. She climbed up onto the sink and climbed through the mirror portal into the shadow world. She didn't see the other two girls follow her into the bathroom, just in time to see her go through the portal.

"Mom!" cried Ami. "No... no! What, what is that?"

"It's a portal of some kind," Minako said, her voice shaking with anger. "Is... is that that girl on the other side? In the school. I don't think she knows where she is, she's looking around like it's unfamiliar."

Ami stared at the rippling mirror. "I can't let her go in alone," she reached into her uniform, pulling out her trinket.

"I don't care how brave she is, those will be youma," Minako declared, pulling out her own pen.

Naoto looked around. She could see the portal behind her, and the small window of mirror leading to the bathroom of the hospital. That was good, so she turned around to look at the structure. It was clearly a school, there had to be an entrance. But she wasn't going to go in unarmed. She reached into her backpack, first finding the glasses Teddie had made for her. She reached in a little further, and pulled out her gun case. She unstrapped it from the case, pulling out the pistol Daidara had modified for her, and the holster that went with it. She didn't load it, it never seemed to run out of bullets in the Midnight Channel, and didn't think it would here, either. She could feel the shadows in this place. There was something else too, a presence she hadn't felt since... well, since the Midnight Channel.

 _Yamato Sumeragi_ was with her.

Naoto was about ready, despite her misgivings, to explore the shadow school in front of her, when she was crashed into from behind. She rolled out of the way, raising her gun at the unknown assailants.

"Oh... I'm sorry..." the blue haired girl said, apologetically. "I didn't see you from..."

"GUN!" shouted the blond, reaching out at lightning speed to slap Naoto's weapon away.

Naoto dodged backward. She had almost leveled her weapon before she realized that these were not shadows. In one smooth motion, she holstered her weapon and put her hands up in front of her. "Hold it. I'm human, like you are."

The blond looked at her, no longer actively aggressive, but still disapproving, and still almost hostile. Then Naoto did a double take. She'd heard of the Sailor Scouts before, but, as they were mostly active in Tokyo, never seen them before.

A mess of conflicting emotions surged through her, none of them completely at peace with the others. Right now? Hope, taking on shadows was best done as part of a group. In the past, she'd envied them, they'd won the super power lottery. No one had problems taking them seriously, no matter that they were about her age, no matter that they were girls. It didn't hurt that they could outrun a bus, and maybe even bench press one too, she wasn't sure.

Now that she was part of a team that supported her, most of the recognition envy went away. That she had helped people against the supernatural helped against the rest of it. Part of her admitted that she would love the superhuman attributes, but her life was currently complicated enough. She buried all those thoughts, there was only thing about the Sailor Scouts she cared about...

"There are Youma here," the blonde – Venus – asked. Her eyes were narrowed, and she kept glancing at Naoto's holster. "They're dangerous, and gun, or no gun, you should go back through the portal."

Naoto felt herself bristling. She looked evenly at Venus, forcing herself to remain calm. "I can help you. I've actually been in this situation before, and Dr. Mizuno is a friend of mine. I'm not going to abandon her."

"The longer we wait, Venus, the further away the youma get with the Doctor. We need to hurry," said the blue haired scout. Mercury, Naoto corrected herself. She focused on Mercury for a second. Why did she look familiar? She was forced to discard the thought as Venus returned to staring at her.

"Fine," she said, clearly still agitated, "But stay behind us." Mercury was already moving, and Venus had to hurry to keep up.

"Do you recognize the school?" Naoto asked. "It wouldn't surprise me if it was some sort of reflection of something in the normal world."

"Because we went through a mirror?" asked Venus. She began sarcastically, but then she seemed to realize that might actually be true. "No, it doesn't look like any school I've seen."

Mercury pushed her way through the front doors of the school. Inside, the corridors were covered with announcements and posters that one might see on any high school, at least until one looked closer and saw it was the same announcement and posters repeated over and over.

"Look out!" cried Mercury, a pair of what appeared to be large boulders were rolling down the corridor at them. The three girls flattened themselves against the wall, only to be bemused as the boulders stopped in front of them. That's when they saw the faces. Mercury had her computer out in an instant, already trying to analyze them.

"I'll take care of this!" Venus declared, planting her foot and delivering a solid roundhouse right in the rock's face. To Naoto's surprise, the rock, well, rocked backward. She had a pretty good memory of these creatures, and physical attacks had never worked well.

But it was still intact, and crashed back into Venus, who stepped backward from the blow.

"The computer's detecting a weakness to fire. That's not helpful."

Rise-chan had a remarkable memory with weaknesses to shadows they'd met before, but a computer that could detect them? That'd have been so helpful in Inaba. But for right now, she focused herself, and drew the Tarot Card from the ether. "Go! _Yamato Sumeragi!_ " With one smooth motion, she drew her gun and fired, shattering the Tarot Card, releasing her Persona. " _Agidyne!"_ she cried out.

Sumeragi looked at the boulders facing them, and brought down a wave of fire onto the undamaged one, reducing it to rubble, which faded to an inky blackness.

Venus leaped into the air, kicking out like she was a character in a fighting game, and where it landed, a large crack appeared in the boulders facade.

Mercury stepped into the gap, and drove a punch right into the newly exposed weak spot, causing the second basalt to shatter, then melt away.

"Now, what was that?" asked Venus, turning to Naoto.

"My persona," she answered, "I will explain everything once we've found and rescued Dr. Mizuno."

"That's good enough for me," Mercury said, turning down the corridor. Venus shot Mercury a somewhat upset look, but Mercury was already looking into the next room. Naoto joined them, hoping quietly that Mercury had some sort of mapping software in that computer of hers. Yu had nearly a photographic memory of the rooms they worked their way through in the Midnight Channel, and while Naoto was good, she wasn't that good.

There were also more shadows, metal giants, floating dice, and a few teams of ravens as they continued through a maze of rooms and corridors. While Mercury was able to analyze them, and between the magic of Naoto's Persona and Venus's physical strikes they were dispatching them quickly enough, but they took a couple of hits each time, and those hits were taking tolls. This was no team of balanced skills, and Venus was clearly showing the wear. Not for the first time, Naoto truly appreciated Yukiko's and Teddy's healing skills.

What really worried her, as they climbed up to a third floor, is that, at least according to Teddy, shadows were usually somewhat docile. They only got agitated in the presence of a really strong shadow driving them. In Inaba, that had mostly been the shadows of the investigation team. Here? Naoto didn't like the possibilities.

"We can't take much more of this," Naoto said, wiping her brow, as Venus opened the next door. "We may need to have to..." she began, pain echoing in her voice.

"I'm not leaving Dr. Mizuno behind," Mercury told her sharply, even as Naoto could hear the exhaustion, and pushed ahead of Venus. Venus gave Naoto a hard look as she followed her fellow sailor scout.

"Alright," Naoto grumbled quiet as she trailed behind. "I get you that don't know me, but nobody can help the doctor if we're dead." She pushed into the room, and stopped in her tracks. It was _exactly_ what she feared. She saw the doctor... and she saw two Mercuries staring at each other. "Oh no," Naoto whispered. She remembered the stories about the Shadows of the investigation team... she had seen her own.

"Who am I?" the shadow asked, laughing. "I'm the part of you that wonders why do we do this. It keeps us from our studies, and none of the others have respect for education..."

"No," Mercury protested. "They're fine, they listen, they study.."

What would the shadow of a Sailor Scout be like? If it had any of the strength... they didn't have a prayer of fighting it. Naoto froze just at the thought.  
"We don't spend any time at home, we never see her... and she doesn't even know what we do. How much is that hurting her?"

"She would be proud of me!" Mercury cried out, and Naoto could hear the anger rising, the barbs were striking home."I help people as Mercury just as she helps people as a Doctor!"

Did she dare help, or would she inflame things more? Naoto didn't know, if she even hinted that she believed the Shadow, would it inspire a denial? She had to get her brain in gear. Either way this turned out... Naoto began to move toward Dr. Mizuno.

"And if we slip, and if a youma finds her... she will never know that it's all... our, fault."

The doctor was conscious, barely. Naoto helped the woman to her feet, and she just about draped herself over Naoto's shoulder. Naoto struggled toward the door, if only she could there before...

"No, no, no!" Mercury cried, holding her head in her hands.

"Venus, I could use a hand here. We need to get the Doctor out of here."

Venus, who had been staring transfixed at the pair of Mercuries, made eye contact with the Dcotor and moved to help Naoto. Really, to take over for Naoto, as Venus had no problem putting her into a fireman's carry.

"And if anyone evil figures out who you are," the Shadow, "your mother dies. It's as simple as that. It'd be so much better if we Just... Gave... Up.

"NO!" Mercury cried. " **YOU ARE NOT ME**!"

And the Shadow laughed. Naoto knew that laugh, and she hated that laugh. "I... I am so much closer to you than even you will ever admit. I am a Shadow... _of your own, true, nature!"_ And it changed.. The yellow eyes shrank inward, becoming mere pinpricks of glowing light. The body stiffened and thickened, becoming rectangular, as did the arms.

"Now," said the Shadow, in a new robotic voice, "I will make everything better, by taking your place."

"Mercury! We can't take that thing on with just the three of us! We need to get out of here!" Naoto cried.

"No... NO! I will make it pay for what it said! Sabão Spray Freezing!" She cried, and a wave of frozen water sprayed forth, covering the shadow. When it emerged, it had a patronizing smile on its face. "Come. You knew that wouldn't work. Let me..."

Naoto gambled. " _Sumeragi! Protect us!"_ she said, firing at her tarot card. " _Ziodyne!_ " The persona, called into existence again, filled the air with electricity. The Shadow felt that one, and let out of cry and defiance, looking toward Naoto for the first time. "Mercury, now! Or we'll never get the doctor out of here!"

That must have broken through Mercury's haze, she tuned and looked at the Doctor, and fear broke through the rage on her face. She ran to Venus, and Naoto slammed the door behind them both as the Shadow roared in rage.

They ran, through classrooms of bubbly chemicals and rows of computers. Mercury took her rage out on the Shadows that stood in their way, a very visible contrast to her calm personality on the way in. This was fine with Naoto, her gun had never been that effective against the Shadows, and she wanted to save what energy she had left in case there was one last trap... or Mercury's shadow caught up with them.

When they got to the portal, Naoto went through first. When she saw the bathroom was still empty, she set down her gun under a sink, then turned to be ready to catch the doctor as Venus passed her carefully through. Naoto could hear the doctor mumbling about her daughter, and... she would have to worry about it later.

"What should we do with her?" Venus asked Mercury, "with the doctor, I mean? We can't stay with her, you know that."

Naoto shut her eyes, reigned in her temper, and spoke up. "Take her to her office," she said quietly, "Her daughter was supposed to meet us to go out for dinner this evening. If she's not already here, I'll make sure she gets home safely." Venus's eyes were questioning, but Mercury looked at Naoto gratefully. "What about the portal?" Naoto asked.

Mercury pulled out her computer once more, and analyzed it much like she had the shadows in the other world. "It's... it's like a wound," she said frowning. "I'll bet Sailor Moon can heal it. I'll call her."

Naoto pulled out her gun case, and secured her weapon and Shadow World glasses. Then she frowned. There was something else in the case, something wasn't there a few minutes ago. Reaching it, she pulled out a small piece of paper. She stifled a gasp, there was a power in that card... she turned it over to see a picture of Sumeragi... it was the tarot card. In the physical world. The idea of what it meant thrilled... and terrified her. She put the card back, and locked the case again.

She then realized that Venus and Mercury had left her behind, and hurried to catch up. Once the doctor was comfortably put into her chair, the two sailor scouts and one investigation team member turned to look at each other. "I'm surprised that her daughter isn't here yet," Naoto said. "Though.. in way that might be lucky. That'd be an awkward conversation."

"Who was that... spirit you were summoning?" Mercury began.

"No, more importantly," said Venus, and she still sounded suspicious. "Where did you get the gun, and why do you have, a gun?"

"I'm a licensed private detective," Naoto said. "I've been called the detective prince..."

Mercury's eyes went wide. "What? I've heard of you! You helped solved that Inaba case... and... and.."

Venus stalled her. "I suppose if you're a licensed detective, I don't have to worry about it, especially if Mercury has heard of you. So good to know. What about that spirit, then?"

"That's a bit of a long story, actually, having to do with Inaba," Naoto began.

"Then we'll need to hear about it some other time," Mercury said, interrupting her to Naoto's surprise. "We need to be going... we can watch the portal until Sailor Moon gets here."

"Ah, good idea," said Naoto. "It was an honor to work with you. Stay safe."

After about five minutes, the Doctor fully regained consciousness. "What happened?" she asked Naoto.

Naoto told her most of it, she omitted the... argument between Mercury and her shadow, judging that as private. To her great surprise, she was taken entirely at face value. The only question posed to the detective was why the shadows had targeted her. Did they know the Sailor scouts were in the area? "That might be it," Naoto said. "There is some connection between a Shadow doppelganger and her original. So they might know, at that."

It was about ten minutes after that, when a young woman walked in, black hair tied back in a ponytail. She was complaining to her friend, "When did Usagi leave that message?"

"You must be Ami," Naoto said. She glanced over to the photograph and gave a friendly smile.

"Sorry I'm late," Ami apologized. "I... uh... lost track of time."

"And that's... uh.. Minako, right?" said the doctor.

Minako nodded, and didn't say anything.

Naoto understood why Ami looked familiar. There was a clear picture of the doctor's daughter right there, she'd just been looking at it. But the clinching thing was that Minako also felt familiar. There was something in her mind trying to convince her she was wrong. But it was a foreign, fog like thing, and Naoto had no patience for it. She knew who these two girls were, just as they knew who Naoto was.

Soldiers. In a war against shadows and darkness.

She just wasn't sure they were ready to accept her as an ally yet.


End file.
